So, really, there was no contest. But Knauf had said from the beginning that he was running to make a "no confidence" statement against Stanaway, and even before the polls closed he was claiming a victory in that regard.

The variety of spellings might be amusing - unless you were one of the Electoral Board members who had to sort, tabulate and list them alphabetically - except that a vote might not count for a chosen candidate if not written correctly.

Board Chairman Robert Marble said 283 votes were ruled invalid, generally because voters wrote only first or last names. The board has some leeway, but not enough to give a "Knauf" vote to John Knauf, Marble said.

While the board might, for example, decide "John Knaufe" was close enough, "Knauf" alone is too vague because there could be dozens of residents with that last name, he said.

"It is incumbent upon the voter to know who he is voting for," Marble said.

Registrar Carole Sekula advised voters to write the full, correct name of a write-in candidate on a piece of paper and put it in a pocket before entering the booth, to use as reference.

Poll workers are not allowed to answer the question "What's the name of that write-in candidate?"

But Sekula and Marble said voters who need other help with write-ins, or any other aspect of voting, shouldn't hesitate to ask.

Judith Haynes can be reached at (804) 642-1734 or by e-mail at jhaynes@dailypress.com